About Waitemata Surgeons

We are a group of General Surgeons all with subspecialty interests, working together in the private sector as Waitemata Surgeons.

We also individually hold public appointments at Waitemata District Health Board.

In conjunction with other health professionals, the following multidisciplinary services are available:

Breast Clinic

Colorectal Clinic

Gall bladder Surgery

Hernia Clinic Laparoscopic and open mesh repair

Obesity Clinic

Reflux disease, investigation and management

Thyroid and Endocrine Clinic

Upper Gastrointestinal malignancy

Varicose Vein Clinic

What is General Surgery?
The role of the General Surgical Department varies from hospital to hospital, but in broad terms general surgery can be said to deal with a wide range of conditions within the abdomen, breast, neck, skin and, in many hospitals, vascular (blood vessel) system.

While the name would suggest that the focus of general surgery is to perform operations, often this is not the case. Many patients are referred to surgeons with conditions that do not need surgical procedures, but merely require counselling or medical treatment.

Note: Please note below that some people are not available at all locations.

When you come to your appointment, your surgeon will ask questions about your illness and examine you to try to determine or confirm the diagnosis. This process may also require a number of tests (e.g. blood tests, x-rays, scans etc).
Sometimes this can all be done during one visit, but for some conditions this will take several follow-up appointments. Occasionally some tests are arranged even before your appointment to try to speed up the process.

Once a diagnosis has been made, your surgeon will discuss treatment with you. In some instances this will mean surgery, while other cases can be managed with medication and advice.
If surgery is advised, the steps involved in the surgical process and the likely outcome are usually discussed with you at this time.

Common Conditions:

Skin Disorders -
Skin conditions dealt with by general surgery include lumps, tumours and other lesions of the skin and underlying tissues.

Endocrine Disorders -
Abnormalities of the endocrine system treated by general surgery include disorders of the pancreas and adrenal glands in the abdomen and the thyroid and parathyroid glands in the neck. These are often very complex conditions requiring extensive investigations.

Breast Disorders -
General surgery covers breast diseases including breast cancer. These conditions are often initially dealt with in a specialised breast clinic which is able to perform a number of investigations.

Gastrointestinal Disorders -
Conditions of the gut dealt with by general surgery include disorders of the oesophagus, stomach, small bowel, large bowel and anus.

Salivary Gland Disorders -
Disorders of the salivary glands may be dealt with by the general surgical department or the ENT (ORL) department depending on the local policy.

Liver and Biliary System Disorders -
General surgery covers some disorders of the liver and biliary system.

Hernias -
A hernia exists where part of the abdominal wall is weakened, and the contents of the abdomen push through to the outside.

What makes us different

We are able to offer a continuity of care for both our private and public patients.
We have structured our week so that there will always be someone available to deal with urgent problems should they arise.